The 9th inning might usually make Indians’ fans nervous but they don’t have that problem in the 7th and 8th innings.  Rookie lefty Rafael Perez works a lot in the 7th inning and he has been nasty this season.  Perez has pitched in 40 games this season and he is 1-1 with 1 save, a 1.41 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP.  He has worked 57.1 innings this season and he has only allowed 35 hits, walked 14 batters and whiffed 59.  Rafael Betancourt is having the best season of his major league career by far in 2007.  Betancourt has worked in 62 games this season and he is 5-1 with 1 save, a 1.48 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP.  He has worked 73 innings this season and he has only allowed 47 hits, walked 8 batters and whiffed 69.  The Indians are closing in on the Central Division Title as they now lead the Tigers by 6.5 games with a 89-62 record.

The Cleveland Indians have won 4 games in a row and they now have a 85-60 record on the season which has them in first place in the American League Central, 6.5 games ahead of the Detroit Tigers.  The Indians are set up well for the playoffs as C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, Paul Byrd and Jake Westbrook have all been pitching well which will likely give the Indians an edge.

The Cleveland Indians have been increasing their lead in the American League Central by winning 9 of their last 10 ball games.  The Indians now have a 79-58 record which has them in first place in the American League Central, 6 games ahead of the Tigers.  C.C Sabathia has been the ace of the Indians pitching staff as he is 16-7 with a 3.24 ERA so far this season.  Fausto Carmona has been a huge surprise after having an awful 2006 season out of the bullpen.  He is 14-8 with a 3.31 ERA this year.  Veteran Paul Byrd has also been very good this season as he is 14-5 with a 4.19 ERA this year.  The offense has been hit and miss this season but you can’t blame Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez for that.  Sizemore is hitting .277 (.856 OPS) with 102 runs scored, 23 homers, 70 RBIs and 29 stolen bases.  Victor Martinez has been playing first base when he needs a day off from catching to keep his potent bat in the lineup.  Martinez is hitting .303 with 21 homers and 97 RBIs.  Plus Martinez has really improved his throwing behind the plate to make him less of a liability on defense.  The Tribe is looking good right now as they are getting hot at the right time of the season.

The Indians are only 6-7 the last two weeks despite outscoring their opponents 66-65.  The Indians have been wasting solid hitting lately with sub par pitching.  The Tribe enters this week with a 37-24 record which has them in 1st place in the American League Central, 1.5 games ahead of the Tigers.

The Indians were 5-2 last week as they outscored their opponents 43-30.  The Indians were ripping the ball all of last week.  The Indians entered this week with a 31-17 record which had them in first place in the American League Central, 2.5 games ahead of the Tigers.